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He-Man –or King Adam, as he was now known– lived happily alongside Queen Teela within Grayskull, and she bore him a son, whom they named Dare. But despite their peaceful lifestyle, He-Man was often troubled by bad dreams –dreams of Skeletor returning, and himself becoming absorbed again in a life of permanent battle. Although Teela assured him that these kinds of dreams would come naturally to someone such as himself, given his years of war, He-Man was severely troubled by an ancient prophecy he had found in the Grayskull Library, which stated that “The final battle between the ultimate warriors of good and evil shall take place far into the future, when all material development has reached its utmost peak, thus leading to the penultimate clash between the two forces”. This prophecy did not seem to fully match his final battle with Skeletor. It carried the implication that their final battle would take place in a future world dominated by technology. Teela reminded him that his final battle with Skeletor had taken place in a realm at the center of all dimensions, past and future, so it therefore matched the description in the prophecy. But He-Man remained unsure, for he felt it certainly made sense that good and evil could be pushed into a great showdown within a technologized society overrun by material value. And now that he was repeatedly haunted by dreams of battling Skeletor amidst a cityscape of machinic hell, he became increasingly concerned and kept on his guard.

He was right to do so. For although Eternia now lived in peace, the entity that was Skeletor was not dead. Since he had become a God, there was no way that he could be properly killed. He still existed, but no longer in physical form- rather as a swirling beam of dark, metaphysical energy, only barely conscious after his defeat. As he diffused past Infinita, aside Horde World, the evil energy around that sector of the universe began to reawaken his consciousness. Memories of who he was, and his final battle, seeped into his mind. And as the pieces fell together… so did the plan for his comeback, and his second conquest of the universe.

It had seemed apparent from his final defeat at the hands of He-Man that his hold over the universe had been severed due to the force of light being in some way inherent to the essence of matter, thus making universal harmony the natural way of life. He had lost the war, it seemed, by tampering too heavily with nature. Yet he could not accept these ridiculous notions, however true they might be. Throughout his life, aside him he had seen nothing but feeble-mindedness and cowardice in all those around him. He was truly superior to them, and it was his duty to achieve dominance over all and put the universe right. He concluded that there was some flaw in the universe’s construction that led people into blind illusions of peace and equality. It was his task to alter the essential chemistry of the cosmos, so that natural selection and survival of the fittest would prevail over all. His best way of reaching this target, he decided, was through the means of technology. He required a weak, technology-driven world on which to excise his power, so that he could use advanced materialism to block out the force of the light, and enforce natural hierarchy. In such a society, he could easily win the favor of the fearful denizens, and once he had as much technological power as he had magical power, he could subtly seize the power of the universe and remould its very essence to his own desires.

He decided that the perfect world for him to inhabit would be the planet of Denebria. This war-ravaged, insecure planet was the ideal environment for him, in which he could easily win the favor of the planet’s Mutant inhabitants. He observed the world carefully from the stars, studying closely the Mutants’ war with their sister world, Primus. The Primands were weak and were fighting a losing battle, so with Skeletor’s power on the Mutants’ side, the Primands would be defeated in no time. And if, as legend claimed, Primus was home to the great Trithuseum Crystals, and the ultimate power generator, once Skeletor had this resource it would make his conquest a lot easier. The essence of the universe would be his in no time.

To Skeletor’s pleasure, it emerged that there existed a cult on Denebria called the Destructons, who worshipped none other than Skeletor himself. Skeletor was impressed that there were cults throughout the universe which had adopted him as their God. The leader of the Destructons was a woman who, despite herself being a mutant, had developed astounding beauty given the deformities of her race. Her name was Krytta.

Skeletor knew that the Destructons would be his key to re-manifestation in physical form. His defeat at the hands of He-Man had prevented him from doing so with his own powers, but this cult could surely enable his return to the physical realms. So Skeletor made contact with Krytta, while she was deep in meditation over the thought of her God. Ecstatic at having made direct contact with her Lord, she instantly agreed to help him return to the physical world. She called a meeting of the Destructons, all of whom grew immediately excited at the thought of resurrecting their almighty deity.

The Destructons held a sacred ritual upon the Desert of Drail, chanting ancient incantations as they raised their arms up towards Denebria’s moon, Nordor. As they chanted and danced for the presence of their Lord, the appearance of the moon itself began to change. Two of the craters deepened, becoming larger and blacker upon the moon’s surface, resembling a pair of hollow eyes. Two other craters distorted in shape, together forming the appearance of a fleshless nose. And the rocky surface beneath them seemed to erode itself, until it resembled a row of skeletal teeth in a hideous evil grimace. Moon Nordor had taken upon the appearance of Skeletor.

And within the interior of the moon, which was used as a battle base, the computers began to crackle and fizzle with evil energy. Skeletor’s consciousness was itself being concentrated into the machinery. A large console was infiltrated by a huge explosion, and out of it stepped the new Skeletor –part organic, part machine– his blue torso covered in robotic armor and wires, his skull encased in a tight metal helmet, a long, purple cape flowing from his back.

Skeletor beamed himself down to Denebria, where he was presented with the new Havoc Staff, constructed by the members of the Destructons using minerals and magic absorbed from the world of Infinita. He stood before his disciples, all of whom bowed to him in honor. The Overlord of Evil had truly returned- and he was now ready to start afresh in a new conquest of the universe.

Denebria was still under the rule of Commander Brakk, who mastered most of the Mutant Army’s invasions of Primus. Taken aback at the sudden and unexpected presence of Skeletor on his planet, Brakk was quick to accept Skeletor’s offer of assistance in his war against Primus. Skeletor promised to use his infinite knowledge, and the lessons he had learned from his previous mistakes in battle, to aid the Mutants in overcoming Primus. He knew it was a better move at this moment to ally with Brakk and assist him, rather than destroy him. His presence in this war must be kept subtle, in order for his threat to go unchallenged by any strong force of good. And besides, he needed as much alliance as he could obtain to boost his force. Brakk granted Skeletor the position of Advisor and Second Commander, but knew that as much as he would value Skeletor’s assistance, he would have to keep a careful eye on him and discourage his forces from trusting Skeletor too closely. After all, it was unlikely that the notorious Lord of Destruction would have given up his desires to rule the universe, especially after having achieved that aim once before, and he was more than likely to turn against Brakk once he had the power.

The force of the Mutants’ attacks against Primus increased enormously following the emergence of Skeletor. Many great cities were being destroyed by the Mutant forces, humans taken hostage, and power sources absorbed. While Primus remained beautiful and fertile as a whole, it was at risk of collapsing under Mutant force any day. The Galactic Guardians, the leading defenders of the planet, were a team of very strong fighters with great abilities and courage- but as powerful as they were, they could not resist the Mutant attacks for much longer, especially now that their attacks had become so much more fierce and violent.

The Galactic Guardians became curious as to why the Mutants’ attacks seemed to have suddenly become so much more cunning and extreme, and they suspected some great evil genius may have joined them in the planning of their assaults. Their master spy, Vizar, undertook a private exploration spying on Denebria, and he discovered that the legendary Skeletor was working with the Mutants. This news greatly shocked the Guardians. All of them knew of the power of Skeletor, for he was known throughout the universe, and none of them could forget the chaos that had ensued that time he had actually conquered the universe for all of a few days. It really did seem as though Primus was in more serious danger than ever.

So action was immediately taken, and Darius, leader of the Galactic Council and master of weaponry on Primus, called an urgent meeting of the Galactic Council. He explained that with Skeletor as a prime opponent, Primus was in severe danger of succumbing to the same kind of apocalypse as had befallen Denebria centuries ago; the result of technology divorced from soul. The scientists of Primus were doing all they could to advance their machinery and weapons to strike back at the Mutants, but Darius explained that he had given the matter careful thought, and suspected that the Primands were trying too hard and pursuing the wrong methods. They were becoming far too heavily reliant on technology, to the point that many of their fighters had almost become robots, blindly fighting back at the Mutants by the day, distanced from their own souls. Darius recalled the ancient legends of the days in which Primus was ruled by the Horde, and a great savior from a primitive land had come to defend the Primands in their hour of need, bringing with him the power of the good and the way of the magic, banishing the Horde from their world and restoring peace. As the legend had it, he had pledged an eternal alliance to the Galactic Council, provided them with a share of his own power, and spoken a prophecy that if Primus were ever again to find itself the victim of technological chaos, the Primands would need look no further than the past, from which they could bring the power of the good and the way of the magic to the present to defend them. This was the move that Darius felt the Galactic Council should take.

His proposal was met with skepticism by many of the council members. Many felt that he was wallowing in idyllic fantasies, seeking sanctuary in old wives’ tales. The legend of the great savior was so ancient that it was generally believed to be nothing more than a pure legend. But Darius stuck rigidly by his word, reminding them all that it was magic upon which civilization had been built in the first place, and it was magic that fuelled their machinery through the Trithuseum Crystals. And as an ancient Elder of Primus had famously spoken, “For those of open minds and open hearts, the impossible shall emerge to save them at the moment of their deepest crises”.

Darius went on to explain that he had conducted extensive research into the details behind the ancient legend, and from what he had gathered, it appeared that the great defender of the past was from the planet Eternia, reknowned throughout the universe for its incredible power. Skeletor himself had previously warred upon Eternia, and the stories told throughout the cosmos of the great Eternian battles claimed that Skeletor was defeated by a hero named He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. If Darius’ theory was correct, then the Primands already possessed a portion of the greatest power in the universe- and this great magic was on their side, ready to help them when they needed it most. Darius announced that the Primands’ next move should be to travel to Eternia, and bring He-Man himself to their world, to face off against his polar enemy and bring about an end to the great war between the two worlds.

This very mission was deemed impossible by most of the council, their minds brazenly affined to skepticism and pessimism after their years of continuous loss and degradation. Eternia was millions of light years away from Primus, in another dimension of time, how could even the Primands’ technology be adequate enough to breach the boundaries? But Darius refused to abandon his confidence, declaring that if Skeletor could transcend the levels, so could they. For some time, his greatest scientists had been working on a starship which, if completed according to plan, would be the ultimate spacecraft, the most powerful creation ever on Primus. This ship was a scientific marvel, of enormous size yet capable of traveling at incredible speed. Fuelled by Trithuseum Crystals, it would have many powers of magical and scientific natures, capable of breaching the barriers of space and time. The starship was close to completion, and Darius knew that the perfect choice for the ship’s maiden voyage should be the voyage to Eternia, the greatest mission the Primands would ever undertake.

On the day that was planned for the great voyage to Eternia, the starship was unveiled to the whole of the Galactic Council. All were struck dumbfounded by its enormous size and beauty. Darius stepped forth, and named the ship Starship Eternia, in honor of both its maiden voyage and its incredible power. To steer the ship on its maiden voyage, Darius selected two of his finest space pilots, both great warriors and members of the Galactic Guardians. The first was Hydron, the former ruler of a once-great sea kingdom, destroyed in the Zone Wars by a great villain named the Red Sun, who killed his whole family. Kept alive only by artificial respirators and a seething determination to find the Red Sun himself, Hydron had since proved a great warrior and space pilot, a valuable aid to the Galactic Council. The second chosen pilot was Flipshot- real name Icarius, he was the last surviving member of a race of warriors from the cloud city of Cerus, skilled in aerial acrobatics. Flipshot was one of the most daring and adventurous space pilots that Primus had ever seen.

Together, Captains Hydron and Flipshot stepped into the cockpit of the Starship Eternia. All the members of the Galactic Council- and the entire population of Galactic City- wished them luck, as they blasted off into the skies, setting off on the imperative mission on which the entire future of Primus- and possibly the universe- would depend.

After several hours of piloting the Starship Eternia beyond the Triax Star System and into the deepest reaches of the cosmos, Flipshot and Hydron finally felt their tremendous ship being pulled through a great ripple in the barriers of time and space. As they emerged from the space warp, a large planet appeared below them. The ship’s sensors confirmed that this was Eternia, the very world which they were looking for. The scanners of the ship immediately went haywire, buzzing with energy as they detected an enormous power source coming from the world below. It looked as though Darius’ ‘crazy, fantastic theories’ had solid foundation after all. This source of power was so tremendous that for a moment, Flipshot and Hydron feared the ship would explode under the energy of their scanners. As Hydron activated the ship’s beaming device, Flipshot used the ship’s consoles to beam a peace signal down to the Eternians.

The presence of the alien ship above Eternia caused a stir amongst the Eternians. The planet’s astronomers detected the presence of a large and incredibly powerful ship from an alien world, and warned the Eternians to prepare themselves in case of a possible invasion. Within Castle Grayskull, although he had become of an increasingly calm, sombre nature in his ten years of ruling the planet, He-Man became particularly anxious over the presence of the ship.

Shortly afterwards, he and Queen Teela were to receive a visit from none other than Teelina, the former Sorceress of Grayskull, who had flown all the way from her current home on the banks of the Harmony Sea, where she lived with Duncan, the former Man-At-Arms. She had been evoked to visit them by a terrible nightmare- and each time Eternia had come under threat before, she had been prewarned of the danger in her dreams. In her dream, she had witnessed the vision of none other than Skeletor, standing amidst a chaotic and futuristic cityscape, above a mass of mutilated bodies. He-Man was struck with immense shock when Teelina told him of this, for it bore a close resemblance to the nightmares he had been suffering himself. Could it be that the mysterious ship above Eternia belonged to none other than Skeletor, ready to mount another attack on the Eternians in the form of machinic slaughter?

But Castle Grayskull’s current scientist, Marr-Vel, assured He-Man that the ship was nothing to worry about- for his consoles had picked up a peace signal which he had traced to the ship directly above Eternia. Wherever the ship had come from, and whoever was piloting it, they had come to Eternia in peace.

He-Man remained suspicious, for a peace signal could be the exact sort of trick Skeletor would think of if he were to return in this manner. He mobilized Castle Grayskull’s defense forces. Marr-Vel managed to obtain radio communication with the ship, and He-Man spoke to the Captain via the system.

The voice of Captain Hydron emitted from the consoles, explaining that the ship had come from the world of Primus, which had been at war for many years with its sister world of Denebria- but the war had become even more severe of late following the Denebrians’ alliance with Skeletor. He then spoke of how he had been sent to Eternia in response to an ancient legend of a great hero who would come to the aid of the Primands with the power of the good and the way of the magic.

Suddenly, the truth came to He-Man in a flash as he remembered the legends of King Grayskull and how he had allied with the world of Primus in order to drive the God Prime from Eternia. He-Man responded that the Eternians owed their own historic survival to the people of Primus, and that he would gladly join them in their intergalactic battles against the resurrected Skeletor. He immediately took hold of the Sword of Power, and said goodbye to his wife, his son and his people, declaring that he must leave Eternia for the sake of the universe. They were surprised at his abrupt departure, and many of his warriors offered to join him. He-Man urged them to stay on Eternia for their own safety, but vowed that he would contact them if he needed any help on his new space-bound struggles. He was beamed on board the Starship Eternia, where he joined Hydron and Fliphot on the return voyage to Primus.

But the return voyage did not go as smoothly as the outward voyage. For unbeknownst to the heroic captains of the ship, their trek to Eternia had not escaped the knowledge of the Mutants. General Optikk, spying undercover on Primus, had noticed that the Primands were working on some great spacecraft for an all-important expedition, and reported the findings back to Brakk, who had instructed Optikk to sneak on board the Starship Eternia to halt the procedure at the appropriate moment. Optikk was hiding on board the ship together with Kalamarr, a cyborg mutant from the Quagmire Swamp, who was one of Brakk’s main henchmen.

Optikk had been to Eternia before, at the time of the Great Unrest. Recognizing the course which Hydron and Flipshot were steering through space, Optikk worked out the Galactic Guardians’ plan and reported back to Brakk with what he saw.

Skeletor was shocked when he heard the details of the Primands’ expedition. As he was unaware of the historical links between Primus and Eternia, it could not have come as more of a surprise to him that the Primands had taken this move. Fearful of the hindrance to his conquest that the presence of He-Man could cause, Skeletor set about ensuring that the Starship Eternia would never return to Primus at all. He could not allow his most hated enemy ever to thwart his plans a second time.

So Skeletor arranged plans through liasing with Optikk over the radio system. Once everything had been worked out, the Mutants put their plan into action. Optikk and Kalamarr showed themselves on board, taking the Galactic Guardians by surprise. Before they had the time to fight back, He-Man, Flipshot and Hydron found themselves paralyzed by Optikk’s stun beam. Optikk and Kalamarr then rushed to the Escape Pod and blasted off, reaching the space warp, meeting Skeletor on the other side in a Mutant craft with Brakk and Krytta. Skeletor proceeded to infiltrate the space warp with his own evil magic, channeled through the Havoc Staff. Anyone passing through it would find themselves wracked with immense pain, their body ravaged by a thousand seering electronic volts, leading to a horrific death as they exploded from the pressure. Nothing –not even a powerful solid spacecraft– could emerge intact on the other side of the space warp. Satisfied that he had now sealed the death of He-Man, Skeletor set about making a major assault on Primus with the Mutant forces, so that Primus would fall to his might before anything in the semblance of hope could reach it.

As Primus found itself victim of this great assault, the Starship Eternia drifted towards the space warp, with He-Man, Flipshot and Hydron completely paralyzed and helpless within. As they passed through the space warp, the force of the electric field was so severe that it automatically weakened the paralysis spell. But the three heroes remained helpless against its force. Each of them cried out in tremendous pain as the voltage coursed through their entire bodies. Even He-Man was in agony at the sheer pain, greater than any kind of pain he had felt in a long time. The pain shot through his mighty muscles, and he felt his body ready to explode any second…

As the pain reached its zenith, He-Man suddenly felt an unexpected, warm presence… the presence of none other than Teela. He heard her voice in his mind. She reminded him that no matter where he may travel amidst the dimensions of space and time, the power of the light was always within him, and was always stronger than the power of the dark. His venture into the future dimensions would be dangerous, for the levels of technological power in these dimensions were greater than anything He-Man had ever experienced on Eternia, and the long distance from Grayskull meant that he would no longer be able to channel its power so purely, all these light years away. And Skeletor, although he no longer possessed Grayskull’s power himself, was nevertheless still a God and had received a tremendous boost in power which meant that He-Man’s struggles with him could be harder than ever before. Therefore, Teela explained, the Elders of Grayskull had chosen to grant him extra power… of gargantuan levels. To survive in the future, and wield the power of good to sufficient effect, He-Man would be imbued with not only the power of Grayskull… but the power of Eternia. The Elders had drawn upon all the heroic power within the entire planet… and now it was to be duplicated within He-Man himself.

He-Man immediately knew what to do. Struggling hard against the pain of the electric field, he barely managed to reach for the Sword of Power. He held it above his head, and called out:

“BY THE POWER OF ETERNIA…
I HAVE THE POWER!”

The control center of the ship was immediately engulfed by a tremendous explosion. But it was not the destructive explosion that its inhabitants had been anticipating. It was the explosion of immense light from the Sword of Power, which surrounded He-Man as a storm of swirling energy whooshed around his body. As the light faded, and his form came into view once more, he looked different… and a zillion times more powerful than before. His muscles seemed to have boosted in size, his chest now adorned with shimmering gold space armor, his legs encased in tight, deep blue metallic coverings and large golden boots. A myriad of voices echoed throughout the room, speaking the words:

“BY THE POWER OF THE PAST AND FUTURE JOINED… YOU ARE HE-MAN! MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE MADE NEW!”

Alleviated entirely of the pain, He-Man himself was struck with amazement at how much more powerful he felt than ever before. He felt completely indestructible… and completely alive. His sword shimmered with crackling energy, and he immediately channeled his power through the sword. The power of Eternia erupted through the chamber… releasing Hydron and Flipshot from the effect of the space warp, and eliminating the spell altogether. Starship Eternia drifted smoothly through the warp, emerging on the other side shimmering bright, solid and untouched.

Flipshot and Hydron looked up in pure amazement at the great being of justice above them, truly taken aback at how he had saved them both from a hellish death. Now, they really knew Darius’ hopes had not been too high. If anything, the outcome of their mission had proved to be more fantastic than even Darius had dreamed of. This man –if as ordinary a term as ‘man’ was adequate enough to describe this incredible being– was surely their true savior. Both Hydron and Flipshot felt their bodies and souls buzzing with euphoric energy, as if unscathed by the pain they had experienced only moments ago. The power of good was at their side and in their hands –and they knew that they could use it to thwart the schemes of any evil force which may bestow its malevolence upon them.

They returned to the control panel of the ship, and accelerated its speed as they soared to the rescue of Primus. Just as Galactic City suffered in the grip of terror as Skeletor, Brakk and the Mutants ravaged its streets, a great shadow fell over the battle, and the welcomed silhouette of the returning Starship Eternia loomed high in the orange skies. The Primands burst into a cheer at the return of the ship… but had it acquired what it had set out to find?

The latch at the bottom of the ship sprang open, and the figure of He-Man drifted out, landing firmly on his feet in front of his wretched enemy, Skeletor. Skeletor looked upon his greatest enemy in disbelief. How had he survived the spell devised to seal his ultimate doom… and how had he emerged from it looking so much more powerful than ever before?

For the first time in over a decade, the noble, handsome face of He-Man looked upon the gruesome, decayed visage of Skeletor. His skull appeared more repulsive than ever before, its surface battered and rotten, his evil sunken red eyes shining out repulsively from their hollow sockets with more malevolence than ever before. His ultimate defeat at the hands of the forces of light had done nothing to change him. It had only made him even more evil and deranged than ever before… now fuelled further by a raging thirst for revenge.

“So, He-Man… we meet again. You dare to follow me this far?”

“I will follow you wherever you go, as long as you exist…I live to defend the universe from your evil!”

Skeletor swung his staff at He-Man, and sword clashed against staff once again, only with more ferocity and determination than ever before. The residents of both Primus and Denebria watched in amazement as these two long-time foes battled in their midst. The definitive being of evil, who had seemed certain to put an end to Primus in no time, was now even in his challenge from this astounding mortal who seemed to epitomize all that was good, radiating vibes of peace and honor from every atom of his muscular frame. And as He-Man began to gain the upper hand in the battle, the Galactic Guardians received an incredible boost of confidence, and struck back with awesome force at their Mutant tormentors. Hydron and Flipshot used the defence force of the Starship Eternia to strike at the enemy both in the air and on the ground, and the incredible machine amazed all who looked upon it as it became engrossed in its first ever battle, to follow its triumphant maiden voyage.

Eventually, as the Mutant forces were scattered, Skeletor realized just how immensely the opposition’s strength had been boosted, and ordered a retreat. The Mutants quickly clambered back into their Battle Pods, and jetted off into the skies heading back towards Denebria. Before he followed them, Skeletor looked back at his hated enemy, and declared that this time, he would bring about He-Man’s ultimate demise. “You will regret having followed me so far…but I will revel in delight at your mistake, once I bring about your eternal doom!”

As the debris of the battle was cleared up, Galactic City was alive with euphoria as the people of Primus, for the first time in many years, finally felt there was hope for their world. This astounding, extraterrestrial savior had come to their aid at the moment it had seemed all was lost. Darius’ desires, deemed insane and fantastic by thousands of people all over Primus, had come true, to even greater effect than Darius himself had imagined. A miracle had occurred, a legend had come true, and if a miracle like this could take place, there was no limit to the great things the Primands could hope for.

He-Man was honored by the Galactic Council and the wise Elders of Primus. He was pronounced leader and commander of the Galactic Guardians, and vowed to do everything within his ability to defend Primus against the Mutants, never resting until Skeletor abandoned his twisted desires.

And so the war was on again between He-Man and Skeletor. Skeletor continued to invade Primus, his schemes more twisted and diabolical than ever before. But He-Man gladly returned to the lifestyle of daily warfare which he had lived a decade earlier, keeping his home and his family in his thoughts as he clashed almost daily with the Mutants, keeping guard over Primus at all times.

But the war against Skeletor and the Mutants was far from easy. If anything, it was much more difficult than the old battles on Eternia. Having been defeated once before, and gained the power of the universe before, Skeletor had come back with a vengeance, learned from many of his mistakes, and knew much more about He-Man’s strengths and weaknesses than he had back then. His knowledge of the essence of the universe was also supreme, for the secrets of Grayskull were still encased in his mind. Many times, he came close to defeating his enemy and gaining the victory he desired so strongly, and He-Man was evoked to become more vigilant than ever before in his defense of Primus and the universe.

Although Skeletor was still furious that He-Man had returned to oppose him, and that his cover had been blown, he quickly accepted the facts and decided it was all for the best. It would give him the chance to achieve the ultimate defeat over his enemy, and now that he felt more confident, experienced and powerful than ever, he was convinced he could do this. Following further research into Primus’ history, he realized that all he needed to do was harness the resources within the Trithuseum Generator, and absorb the magical power donated to Primus by the Elders of Grayskull thousands of years ago. This would give him an enormous wealth of magical and technical power, which he could use to reabsorb the entire magic of Grayskull and Eternia, thus giving him the power to pierce the very essence of the universe and redefine it for himself.

Both He-Man and Skeletor were seen as Gods on their respective worlds, astounding the residents, so used as they were to the essence of technology and material resources. Many of the Mutants became fiercely loyal to Skeletor, afraid of his power and wrath. Brakk became severely concerned about how his new advisor seemed to be gaining so much more respect and loyalty from the Mutant forces than himself. Several times he considered hatching plans to destroy Skeletor, but remembering how strongly Skeletor’s magical skills were boosting the Mutants’ power, he knew they could not afford to lose someone so powerful, for they would stand no chance of beating He-Man without Skeletor on their side. So he knew he must keep a close watch on Skeletor, as no-one was safe from the rage of the crazed warlord, not even himself. Brakk decided to turn to an old ally for help and security –and consulted none other than the universal warlord who commanded utmost respect among the Mutants… Prahvus.

Since his last defeat on Eternia at the hands of Skeletor himself, Prahvus had sunken back into the shadows, but had remained as active as ever, continuing his travels throughout the universe in his efforts to turn Horde governments against Prime, and recruit disloyal Horde members into his army in preparation for the great uprising against the Horde. When Brakk explained to him the current situation with Denebria and Primus, and his concerns about Skeletor, Prahvus assured him that Skeletor need not pose the Mutants any threat. He knew a lot about Skeletor from past experience, and explained to Brakk that Skeletor’s main weakness was that he trusted anyone who feared him. He reveled in other living beings reacting to him in fear, particularly his own slaves, of whom the most fearful were commonly among the most loyal. So as long as Brakk and the Mutants did not show Skeletor any of their distrust or resentment of him, he would cause them no trouble, for he would see them as fearfully loyal and therefore trust them. And Prahvus assured Brakk that if Skeletor ever did threaten to conquer or destroy the Mutant Empire for himself, he would be at hand to assist them against the Lord of Destruction.

To enforce his own protection over his allies, Prahvus presented himself to Skeletor in person, formally in Brakk’s lair. Skeletor, having been unaware of Prahvus’ links with the Mutants, was taken aback by the sudden presence of one of his old rivals, but Prahvus explained that his desire was not to fight but to form an alliance. He explained to Skeletor that since the Mutants of Denebria were originally a breakaway force from the Horde, Skeletor was a valuable addition to their ranks –not only with regards to conquering Primus, but also with regards to overcoming the Horde, building a strong enough force to oppose Prime and ousting him as ruler of the Horde.

So the two evil warlords formed a deal. Prahvus agreed to continue aiding the Mutants and Skeletor in their invasions of Primus, and bringing about the death of He-Man. Skeletor, meanwhile, agreed to assist Prahvus in his own quests when he needed it, and help him rise up against Horde Prime when the big moment came. They agreed that the culmination of their deal would be Skeletor ruling the universe, while Prahvus took charge of the Horde in Skeletor’s name. Although it appeared at face value that Prahvus was willingly dedicating himself to servitude under Skeletor, this was merely a façade and Prahvus had no real fears of Skeletor ever becoming truly dominant over him. As he saw it, the crazed warlord was too exuberant and insane to ever succeed in conquering the universe successfully, and once Prahvus had the power of Prime, he would be able to absorb Grayskull’s power himself and banish Skeletor into oblivion.

As both warlords battled on against their adversaries, and simultaneously increased their powers, they concocted between them a great assault on the God Prime. Skeletor knew that with the power of the Horde in his possession he could surely have all the resources he needed to conquer the universe- even if he did allow Prahvus to control the Horde at first. Prahvus, with Skeletor at his side, led a huge battalion of his forces, together with the Mutants, across the galaxies for an attack on Horde Prime’s ship, the Velvet Glove.

Having seen and heard little of Prahvus since the great showdown on Eternia, Prime was unprepared for the assault. The combined power of Skeletor and Prahvus was a deadly force. Difficult as it may have sounded to make such an assault against a metaphysical enemy who could not even be seen, Skeletor and Prahvus had so much incredible power between them that it was easy for them to sense the deity’s presence and strike at him. As his life force was drained, in desperation, Prime sent a radio signal out to all his forces across the cosmos demanding for them to teleport to the Velvet Glove at once to defend against the attack. Almost at once, thousands of Horde soldiers and robot warriors materialized out of the teleportation booths within the ship. Within moments, the Velvet Glove was engulfed by the chaos of intense battle.

In the midst of the conflict, many of the prison cells within the vehicle were shattered, and the hostages managed to escape and beam back to their homeworlds via the teleportation booths. Amongst the escaped hostages were several members of a secret organization against Prime that had originated on Horde World, but had recruited members from various neighbouring worlds within the galaxy as well as several other planets controlled by the Horde. They were known as the Renegades. The Renegade members who escaped from Horde Prime’s ship stole on board an Escape Pod, and sped back across the cosmos to Horde World- where they reported word of the battle back to their leader, Deltara.

Deltara, founder and leader of the Renegades, was one of the most truly inspirational and honorable beings on Horde World. Few people would even have guessed, let alone believed, that this woman was a native to possibly the most evil and corrupt planet in the universe. Even in her mere form, with her beautiful and stunning appearance, and the peace and honesty within her eyes, one could sense the nobility and serenity that lay within her divine and exquisite character. Deltara, unlike anyone in previous recorded history to have been born on the soil of Horde World, had escaped the corruption which the air of evil and malice upon Horde World caused in nearly all individuals on the planet. Somehow, despite having been raised by a family of devoted Horde scientists and sorcerers, Deltara had held on to her pure heart and soul, and could see how disordered and wrong the culture on her planet was. And ever since she was a small child, she had known she must not give in to the Horde way of life. She had spent her youth training exuberantly for her lifelong mission to enable the people of Horde World to see the error of their ways, and overcome the regime of Prime. Once she had reached adulthood, she had fled from her family’s home, and traveled across and beyond Horde World, spreading her words and philosophies of peace and unity. And her true goodness, compassion and wisdom had won over a heady range of individuals, enabling them to see the light and influencing them to rebel against the Horde. She had thus formed the organization that had become known as the Renegades, due to their refusal to comply with the ways of life on Horde World, which had seemed unfathomable to so many people on the planet. More and more people from Horde-ruled worlds had been recruited into the ranks of the Renegades, all firmly intent on establishing the peaceful rule which this part of the universe had so tragically escaped.

When Deltara was told by her companions of the great battle occurring within the Velvet Glove, between the three evil warlords, she felt she had to take some kind of action to put the situation right. Even if either Prahvus or Skeletor were to succeed in defeating Prime, both of them were evil in their own right and would not in any way improve the society of Horde World- in Skeletor’s case, he would only make the planet much, much worse. Deltara knew a lot about both warlords. Prahvus’ race, the Morior, had indeed been the first ever beings on Horde World to rise against Prime –but they had been misled and had not escaped corruption by the evil upon Horde World, meaning that even if their intentions had initially seemed noble, their ways were at heart no different. And as for Skeletor, this being had actually conquered the universe at one point, his evil was notorious throughout the cosmos, and many were convinced that even Prime feared him. If he was threatening to take over Horde World, he must be stopped at once.

After careful consideration, Deltara decided that there was only one solution. Legend had it that Prime’s one-time favorite student, Hordak, who had himself actually overcome and merged with Prime for a few years, had been defeated by a magnificent warrior woman who wielded the power of justice in her very hands. She had possessed the power of Grayskull- that legendary power located on the world of Eternia, which even Prime had failed to grasp for himself despite several attempts in over a thousand years. According to the legend, after the defeat of Hordak, and the separation of Prime’s soul, Prime himself had been banished from Eternia by a hero from ancient times- apparently the same great hero who had rid Eternia of his evil on his first attempt all those centuries ago. Since Eternia seemed to be the only place in the universe with the power to defeat Prime, Deltara decided that the magic of Grayskull was needed on Horde World, to overcome Prime once and for all.

So she made the decision to contact none other than the great heroine who had defeated Hordak and helped save the universe- Adora.

In the decade that had passed on Etheria since the forces of good’s great victory, Adora had lived a serene and peaceful life, on the seas of Etheria with her husband, Sea Hawk. Sea Hawk’s ship was their home, and they followed a nomadic lifestyle, sailing over the seas, raising their young daughter and son. Although the Sword of Protection was still in her possession, Adora had not become She-Ra ever since the great war was won. Back in her fighting days, the guise of She-Ra had been a form of escape for Adora, a disguise to shield herself from her guilt over the crimes she had committed as Adora during her youth. But she had long since accepted herself for who she was, and the people of Etheria had likewise long since forgiven her after she had saved their world and the universe. She no longer needed that disguise, and was eager to leave behind the many years of war which had dominated her youth.

Sea Hawk, likewise, had mellowed with age and had left behind his pirate days. Although he was still a powerful warrior, he had not engaged in combat for a long time and had become a peaceful and respectable sailor. Although he and Adora spent much of their time in solitude, together with their children, they still took plenty of time to visit their friends on the land and help out with the rejuvenation of Etheria after its many years of turmoil under the Horde. Etheria was slowly beginning to flourish once again, as the state of poverty declined, more people were led to open their eyes to the light after years of loyalty to the Horde, and Queen Glimmer did everything in her capability to restore peace to the planet.

But throughout the decade of peace that had passed since the Horde’s banishment, Adora had always felt a faint sense of unease at the fact that the Horde still existed, and were still out there, wreaking havoc across the universe, her servitude under Hordak still legendary among them. At times she had felt guilty at her lack of action in putting a total stop to their evil. Sea Hawk had always reassured her that the Horde was no longer a concern of hers, and she had no reason to feel guilty about their continued reign of terror throughout the cosmos. But having been raised and bred among the Horde, and still feeling a deep-rooted anger over the way they had brought her up to follow their ways, Adora wanted nothing more deep down than to see the Horde come to an utmost end –and knew she would be more than happy to finish them off herself.

Therefore, when she received the unexpected call from across the universe, it came to Adora as both a relief and a burden. It was a burden in that it meant she had to return to a lifestyle of war and combat, but at the same time it was a relief in that she finally had the reasoning to set out into the cosmos and act upon her chance to put an end to the Horde’s evil once and for all.

She received the communication from Deltara via the means of Light Hope and the Crystal Castle. Deltara had sought to contact Adora by sinking into deep meditation in her chamber, in the Renegades’ base, the Temple of Redemption. Merging her conscious mind with her highest awareness, Deltara had channeled her energy across the cosmos until she had attained communication with Light Hope. She had spoken telepathically to Light Hope through meditation, and informed him of the state of the war on Horde World, and the ferocious battle that currently raged between Prime, Prahvus and Skeletor. Light Hope assured her that the heroine she needed would be with her in due time. For the first time in over a decade, the jewel in Adora’s Sword of Protection shimmered with immense light as Light Hope spoke to Adora through the sword.

After Light Hope had told Adora all the details of the call he had received from Deltara, Adora knew there was no time to waste. She would happily relinquish her peaceful life on Etheria for the sake of the universe, especially if it meant eliminating Horde Prime for good. She already knew that her brother was out there in the cosmos after he had been called out to stop the resurrected Skeletor from taking over the universe once more. She was more than happy to join him amongst the stars in the ultimate battle for the universe.

Accompanied by Sea Hawk and their two children, Adora journeyed to the Crystal Castle, a place she had not been in a long time, which in recent years had figured in her life only as a place which she entertained her children with fantastic tales of. She stood before the essence of divinity that was Light Hope, who warmly welcomed her back to his home and told her of the plan of action for Adora’s quest to save the universe from Prime.

After the plan had been explained, Adora said goodbye to her husband and children, and entered one of the many dimensional portals within the Crystal Castle. The portal led not to a particular planet, but to a secret Renegade spacecraft. On board this craft, Adora met Deltara and the Renegade warriors… and also He-Man and a team of Galactic Guardians, whom Light Hope had contacted to inform about the situation.

The battle on board the Velvet Glove was disrupted by the sudden presence of both He-Man and She-Ra. As Prime and his forces had been weakened from the fight, he was unprepared for their intervention. The combined power of the two heroes of Grayskull, together with the force of both the Galactic Guardians and the Renegades, eventually drove both Skeletor and Pahvus from the ship. Prime was no match for the heroic power he faced, so he summoned all his energy, and with the aid of his forces, caused an immense explosion of electrical power, to which the Horde forces were immune. The heroes had no choice but to flee the ship, and escaped back to the Renegades’ headquarters on Horde World.

Prime had evaded capture this time, but now that She-Ra was present on Horde World, his rule would be greatly threatened. She-Ra and He-Man held a speech in the Temple of Redemption in front of all the Renegades and their allies, vowing to strive to free this world- and the surrounding galaxy- from the influence of Horde Prime. He-Man then went back to Primus, but She-Ra was given the position of leader of the Renegades, and the forces were fully mobilized to provide the biggest opposition to Prime’s reign throughout history.

Prime immediately realized the severity of this threat. Now that the power of Grayskull was present on Horde World, he knew he must work as hard as possible to destroy She-Ra before his millennia-old empire could crumble. As the battles raged between the Renegades and the Horde day by day, more opposition to Prime was generated and the Renegades’ forces swelled continuously. While He-Man now had only one true form, She-Ra continued to re-assume the identity of Adora whilst on Horde World in order to hide from her adversaries.

But She-Ra was not the only threat that Prime faced, as it soon transpired that Prahvus was doing business on Horde World as well. As the presence of She-Ra and the Renegades convinced more people to abandon their loyalty to Prime, Prahvus, working undercover, managed to convince some of them to join his forces rather than those of She-Ra. The war was rapidly reaching a state of destructive chaos.

Over in the Triax Star System, Skeletor’s attempts to gain hold of the Trithuseum Generator were constantly being thwarted by He-Man. The forces of destruction were getting nowhere fast. Prime decided the time had come to take serious action against the power of Grayskull. It had gotten in the way of the forces of evil too many times. Prime called a meeting with Skeletor and Prahvus, in the chamber of the Velvet Glove, and proposed a temporary alliance between the three warlords. They should join forces, he suggested, until they had brought about one thing… the deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. Once these two heroes were no more, the three warlords could fight between themselves to obtain the power of Grayskull.

Skeletor and Prahvus agreed to the alliance. Back on Denebria, Skeletor explained to the Mutant army that their sole goal at this point in time must be the death of He-Man. Before they could continue with their aim of conquering Primus, they must bring about the death of this one man. Brakk, meanwhile, by assuming the guise of an ordinary scientist, had managed to steal a portion of Trithuseum Crystals from Primus. Skeletor was able to use the Trithuseum to power the Mutants’ weaponry and machinery. All they needed to do now was spring a surprise attack on He-Man alone when he least expected it, and take his life.

Skeletor ordered the Mutant spies to keep watch over He-Man’s movements. Optikk soon reported that he had seen He-Man piloting an Astrosub towards Horde World, presumably to help She-Ra and the Renegades. Skeletor decided to seize his chance- this could give him the opportunity to kill both He-Man and She-Ra at once. He reported this observation to both Prahvus and Horde Prime, and the three of them mounted an attack on the Renegades’ base.

With the Mutants’ power boosted by the Trithuseum energy, the Renegade forces were scattered –but it soon became clear that the whole of the evil armies were only after He-Man and She-Ra. She-Ra knew what she must do. Remembering King Grayskull’s victory over Prime centuries ago, she concentrated on the energy from the Trithuseum crystal within the Sword of Protection. A beam from her sword powered the Renegades’ machinery, enabling them to fire an enormous, magic-fuelled blast of energy towards the evil forces. The evil forces found their machinery disabled by the blast, and had no choice but to retreat. But they had achieved a victory of sorts… for while He-Man and She-Ra were still alive, the Renegades’ base was destroyed entirely. With no place to work from on Horde World, their forces would be overcome by the Horde in no time. He-Man and She-Ra led the Renegades to the Astrosub, and they blasted off for Primus, which the Renegades would have to make their new home.

They arrived on Primus, where Darius immediately called an urgent meeting of the Galactic Council. He welcomed She-Ra, Deltara and the Renegades to the ranks of the Galactic Guardians, but explained that the opposition they faced was now greater than ever. Now that Horde Prime no longer faced any opposition on Horde World, himself and the other evil leaders were bound to set their sights solely on Primus, and their first goal was to be the deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. The situation they faced was drastic- Skeletor, Horde Prime and Prahvus would clearly do everything they could to bring about the deaths of these two heroes, and yet Primus depended on them both to save their world. If the deaths of their defenders was the sole goal of the evil forces, they may just succeed.

But He-Man and She-Ra knew it could never be easy to kill anyone who possessed the power of Grayskull. He-Man contacted his wife, Queen Teela, back on Eternia. As Sorceress of Grayskull, Teela granted both He-Man and She-Ra an extra portion of power from the Eternian Elders, and also sent along a team of backup warriors from both Eternia and Etheria to aid the heroic forces of Primus. Among them were several of He-Man’s old allies from the ranks of the Masters, and Adora’s own husband Sea Hawk also journeyed to Primus to help them, having left their children on Etheria in the care of Queen Glimmer. To protect themselves, He-Man and She-Ra resumed the identities of Adam and Adora. While He-Man’s two forms had merged together shortly after he became King of Eternia, he now had the power to revert to the form of an ordinary mortal. Although the evil forces had become aware of the heroes’ secret identities in the later stages of the great Eternian war, with age and time they now appeared different enough physically so as not to be recognized.

The re-assumption of their secret identities was enough to confuse the Mutants upon their next attack on Primus, for an attempt to locate He-Man and She-Ra via brainwave patterns failed and the Mutants were left perplexed as to the whereabouts of the heroes. Although Brakk suggested they may have left Primus to find help from elsewhere in the universe, Skeletor was not convinced- he knew the power of Grayskull well enough by now to know it could easily protect or conceal the heroes. He ordered for an attack to be launched upon Galactic City, for He-Man and She-Ra would surely emerge from hiding to defend their friends.

As the battle sprang into action, Adam and Adora were confident enough that they could help the Galactic Guardians win the battle without having to transform or show themselves. The power of Grayskull had by now formed a protective field around the Trithuseum Generator, which would make it harder for the evil forces to attack. Adam and Adora hid from the battle in an underground bunker from where they could spring out a surprise attack if they were needed. The Mutants closed in on the Galactic Council’s headquarters and were ready to blow up the council chamber. At this point, Adam and Adora transformed into He-Man and She-Ra, and were ready to spring out and thwart the attack. But before they could do so, Krytta picked up the brainwave patterns of He-Man and She-Ra on her device, and the Mutants immediately changed targets and marched towards the bunker. Breaking underground, Skeletor and the Mutants fired an immense blast of energy towards the two heroes, and a huge explosion engulfed the bunker. Once the explosion had died down, there was only a pile of rubble and ash within the bunker. He-Man and She-Ra were no more.

The evil forces erupted into celebration. Skeletor had finally achieved his goal, and killed his most hated enemies. They quickly marched upon the Trithuseum Generator, and managed to weaken the strength of the force field around it. Skeletor usurped more of the power… and laughed in evil ecstasy as he felt himself grow more powerful than he had been in a long time. The Mutants left Primus victorious, knowing they could easily conquer the planet upon their next assault.

Shortly afterwards, on Denebria, Skeletor was laughing maniacally as he and Krytta watched the events on Primus from their viewscreen. The Galactic Council were holding a memorial following the demise of their defenders, and were praying to the stars for help against the Mutants. Queen Teela, devastated at the death of her husband, had temporarily left behind her duties as Guardian of Grayskull to aid the Primands herself, promising that she would grant them greater portions of Grayskull’s power to defend themselves from the next Mutant attack.

Skeletor then set about using the power of the Trithuseum crystals that he had gathered to harness the essence of the universe and remould it to his own desires. Chaos ensued slowly throughout the cosmos as he did so. Once he had the entire Trithuseum Generator for himself, he would once again become Master of the Universe… and this time, it would be for good.

Although all the Mutants were overjoyed at how close to victory they were coming, Brakk knew their victory would be in vain if Skeletor got the power of the Primands himself. He knew that Skeletor would destroy him and take Denebria for his own once he had won. Unsure of what to do, he spoke to Prahvus. Prahvus agreed that they could not allow Skeletor to obtain his desires, and decided there was only one thing they could do at this moment. Now that He-Man and She-Ra were no more, they were free to break the alliance with Horde Prime. So now was the time for them to make their final assault on Prime, destroy him and take over the Horde for themselves.

Brakk managed to sneak away from the Mutant base with a sample of Trithuseum crystals, unnoticed by Skeletor. This could fuel their power upon their assault on Prime. Together, with a team of Mutant warriors and members of Prahvus’ forces, they piloted a shuttle to Horde World, ready to challenge Prime for the last time.

Prime found himself attacked in his base in the name of the Morior. The attack was sudden and violent, and the immense power obtained by Prahvus and Brakk was severe enough to overcome most of Prime’s warriors. Prahvus used the Trithuseum crystals to paralyze Prime’s energy, concentrating it into the crystals to be fully absorbed. For a second it looked as though they were finally ready to take Prime prisoner… when the crystals, abruptly, stopped working.

Brakk and Prahvus were perplexed. Why was this? However hard they tried, they could not produce any further energy from the crystals, and Prime began to escape. He began, slowly, to regain his power.

Realizing they could be quickly overcome if they remained in Prime’s base, Brakk and Prahvus quickly fled, and stopped in the desert outside to work out what was happening. They had barely stopped for more than a moment, when they were faced with none other than He-Man and She-Ra, standing in front of them, alive and appearing more powerful than ever.

The power of Grayskull had been so strong that even Grayskull’s own guardians had underestimated it. They had survived the explosion on Primus with the help of Zodac, who had sensed the instability in the cosmic balance of the universe, and thus intervened to put it right. Zodac had found He-Man and She-Ra refuge in an underground hideout on Horde World, providing them with the means to channel the power of Grayskull from Eternia to Horde World, thus weakening the power of the evil forces on the planet. It had been this which had affected the magic being used by Brakk and Prahvus.

He-Man and She-Ra arrested the two evil creatures in the name of Grayskull. Prahvus had enough magic power within him to narrowly escape their grasp, and vanished into thin air. But Brakk, possessing no magic power of his own, found himself taken prisoner by the two heroes, and escorted to their underground hideout.

Back on Denebria, Skeletor soon received a visit from Prime, having heard the news of Skeletor’s victory on Primus and the apparent deaths of He-Man and She-Ra. He stated that the time had come for the final assault on Primus. Skeletor agreed to let Prime aid him, and that once they had easy access to the Trithuseum Generator, it would be between the two of them in the battle for the universe. Given that he had already succeded part way in remoulding the essence of the universe to his desires, Skeletor was thoroughly confident of victory over Prime.

The attack was launched, and the Primands, still believing He-Man and She-Ra to be dead, were helpless against the evil forces, even with Queen Teela and the Masters on their side. Before long, the protective field around the Trithuseum Generator was dissolved entirely, and they stormed upon the generator.

At that exact moment, over on Horde World, He-Man and She-Ra had succeeded in transferring a sufficient amount of Grayskull’s energy to the evil planet. Using their swords, they concentrated the energy strongly, forming it into a large, shimmering golden tower, slightly resembling the Crystal Castle. Light Hope appeared above them, congratulating them on this achievement. Although there would still be a long way to go before Horde World could be fully liberated, now that a monument of goodness stood upon the planet the evil upon this world could be countered firmly. Light Hope would act as the temporary guardian of the golden tower and would draw as many people as possible into the fortress for redemption. Zodac also congratulated He-Man and She-Ra on their victory. Now their sole mission was to save Primus. Stealing a Horde shuttle pod, the heroes blasted off for Primus.

Sorry about the delay in posting this chapter, have been pretty busy for a while. To anyone who's still reading, hope you enjoy this!

Chapter 32: The Final Fight of Horde Prime

On Primus, Skeletor and Prime had both succeeded in reaching the Trithuseum Generator. The fight was on between the two deities of evil to determine which of them would gain its power. At the point that the alliance between the two was broken, a fleet of Horde ships burst out from the skylines to attack Skeletor, having been positioned secretly above Primus by their master, awaiting his command. Skeletor was stunned slightly by the attack, and Prime took the opportunity to seize a large portion of Grayskull-powered Trithuseum into his own hands. Realizing the power that Prime was about to gain, a team of Galactic Guardians led by Flipshot sprang out to attack the God of evil. At the same time, Skeletor shot a beam of power at his adversary, and Prime retreated from the battle by dissolving his form into a cloud of black mist, which seeped underground ready to harness the rest of the Trithuseum’s power in time to sprin back out…

But not before he encountered none other than She-Ra and He-Man, having just landed in a secret underground station to save Primus. Horde Prime was unprepared for the sudden presence of his most hated foes, and a battle sprung out between himself and She-Ra. As She-Ra faced Prime for the last time, He-Man knew his mission lay above ground… for Skeletor had almost gained the entire Trithuseum Generator for himself.

Above ground, the Primands could only watch in horror as the form of Skeletor gre to gigantic size, crackling with immense electrical energy as he absorbed the power of the Trithuseum Crystals. More and more of Grayskull’s power seeped through the Trithuseum and into his form as he towered above the Primands, his eyes blazing with a red electric flare, laughing with deafening insanity. His appearance became more terrifying than ever; a decayed skull juxtaposed horribly atop a mechanical, cybernetic body pulsating with electrical power.

This was it. This was the real power he had been waiting for. The combined power of magic and technology made him feel much stronger and more powerful than ever… even more than the purely magical power he had initially gained from Grayskull a decade ago. The resources of the technical universe at his command, he could now remould reality to his will.

And as he did so, his force was felt throughout the entire universe. Over on Eternia, the nightmare of Skeletor’s previous conquest, a decade previous, was repeated as chaos and destruction engulfed the land, a black whirlwind of evil energy whooshing above Grayskull as its power was usurped by the greatest deity of evil, light years away. Skeletor’s deafening, maniacal laugh echoed throughout the entire universe. This time, surely no other being could even potentially stop him.

In the hidden technical chambers beneath Galactic City, the battle between She-Ra and Prime raged intensely. Both were being weakened at once by the power of Skeletor… but She-Ra possessed the immense power of the Sword of Protection, its Trithuseum Crystal firmly fixed in the center. The face of Prime’s ancient adversary, King Grayskull, floated in the jewel. He was channeling his wisdom and power through to his powerful female successor.

Prime realized the opposition that he faced. He was sure to be defeated if he stayed around now. He chose to retreat from the scene of the battle to the place where he was at his most powerful… Horde World. Skeletor could be challenged at a later date. He cast a quick spell, and retreated to his home planet… but She-Ra was quick enough to follow him. Within moments, they both found themselves face to face in Prime’s stronghold on Horde World, and the battle sprung into action once again. Prime was now thoroughly confident of victory, with the power of his homeland on his side.

She-Ra knew what she had to do. Using the power of the crystal within her sword to drain the energy of Prime’s machinery around her, she flung it back at Prime in one major burst of energy, draining the power of the Trithuseum that he posessed. Prime reacted quickly, and sent an array of flying lazer devices coursing through the air towards She-Ra. The Sword of Protection was knocked from She-Ra’s grasp, and fell to the ground. Prime sent a blast of energy towards She-Ra, and a surge of deadly electrical energy ran through her body. Burn marks seared over her flesh. The next few moments could be her last.

She-Ra writhed in pain against Prime’s attack. Was this the end? But as she struggled against the vast energy of Prime, she saw the face of King Grayskull float within the jewel of her sword, and heard his voice speak to her.

“She-Ra… the power of technology is no match for the power of light. Remember, the essence of the universe is light energy… and the light is within yourself. You must call upon it within you!”

She-Ra understood his words, and concentrated as hard as she good to fight against the physical pain she was feeling. Throughout the years she had defended the side of good, she had used her powers to work many miracles and heal many injured and sick people. Did she really have the power to heal herself amidst all this pain?

As Horde Prime laughed in mockery at the weakenin form of his foe, She-Ra summoned up all the light energy within her, and spoke the words:

“For the Honor of Grayskull… let the magic within prevail!”

She felt an immense burst of magical energy emit from within her form. All at once, her pain vanished, and she seized hold of the Sword of Protection, leaped into the air, and came forward towards Prime with a flying whirlwind kick. Stunned at the sudden recovery of the Princess of Power, Prime quickly activated the Trithuseum Crystals to send his automatic weaponry towards her… but it had no effect. She-Ra had touched upon the true essence of magic within herself, and the effect of the Trithuseum on technology was now useless. Summoning up all the power of Grayskull, combined with the light energy within herself, She-Ra fired an almighty blast from her sword at Prime… and a cry of immense evil pain was heard as the misty form of Prime began to vaporize into the air above. The glowing red eyes of Prime began to fade, then they closed… forever.Prime had relied too strongly on the dominance of technology over magic, a feat that was never truly possible given the composure of the universe… and this mistake had led to his demise.

Exhausted from the battle, She-Ra just managed to summon enough energy to ascend to the top of the building. Prime’s influence gone, the bleak, grey-brown clouds of the skies of Horde World finally began to dissipate, allowing for the first glimmer of sunlight the planet had ever seen. The golden tower could be seen in the distance.
She-Ra had done it. She had saved Horde World despite having been weakened. But she had the worrying instinct that her victory was in vain… for in the distance, echoing throughout the universe, she could hear the maniacal laugh of Skeletor.

Back on Primus, Skeletor, his form pulsating with evil ecstasy, towered above the Primands and delivered a speech that was heard throughout the cosmos.

“People of the Universe… Meet your ruler. I, Skeletor, the true Master of the Universe, reign supreme over all. All the wisdom you ever gathered, all the magic you ever practiced, all the machinery you ever created, has entered into the possession of myself… I have unstoppable power over you all. Pledge yourselves to me or perish, for I am not only Master of the Universe… I am the Universe!”

The Primands shook their heads in sorrow and disbelief. All the optimism they had ever possessed was lost. They could only willingly surrender at this time to Skeletor’s victory. But in spite of his victory, the Mutants were also unsure if this had been what they wanted. Their aim throughout all the years of war had been vengeance on the Primands for what they did to their world, and rulership over Primus. This kind of maniacal dictatorship that Skeletor was advocating was beyond anything that even the most twisted Mutant mind could have conceived. What good was this victory to them, as all they could do now was become willing slaves to Skeletor?

He-Man had by now emerged from underground, but it seemed he had arrived too late. His connection with the power of Grayskull was diminishing, and he could only stagger across the land as his power weakened. He gripped the Sword of Power tight, hoping to harness all the power of the Eternian Elders, but it seemed useless… for all that power was being usurped by Skeletor.

As he staggered, as yet unseen, through the streets of Galactic City, he suddenly found himself face to face with none other than Brakk, emerging from a dark alleyway. He was surprised at the sudden appearance of Denebria’s ruler, for She-Ra and himself had left Brakk in the prison on Horde World. But Brakk explained that he had been granted freedom by Zodac and Light Hope. His experience under their watchful eyes had enabled him to see the error of the vengeful path himself and the Mutant Army had followed for so many years. He had already experienced doubts about this under the servitude of the maniacal Skeletor, and had been confronted with the consequences of his evil ways. He told He-Man he had now come to amend for his evils by doing his bit to save the universe… before it was too late.

He-Man asked him how exactly this was possible. Brakk explained he had not come to Primus alone, and he stepped out of the alleyway to reveal none other than Sortech. The great scientist of Eternia smiled at He-Man, and explained Brakk had called him to Primus upon instruction from Zodac. He presented He-Man with the great device known as the Ergon, the invention with the ability to control all technical power. He-Man knew what must be done.

By this time, Skeletor’s conscience was transcending throughout the entire universe, away from his physical body. His laughing, demonic form appeared before many terrified people on countless planets throughout the cosmos. Wherever anyone looked or went… Skeletor was there. The Lord of Destruction had achieved the ultimate aim he had been created for… pure destruction of the entire universe.

Skeletor let his conscience drift throughout the universe, and looked upon the essence of reality that was now his own. His own to do whatever he wanted with… each mortal his own willing servant. He witnessed millions of different worlds at once, collapsing under his power; heard the terrified thoughts in the minds of zillions of people surrendering to his will… and for several moments, he bathed in the ecstasy of it all. Pure evil ecstasy.

He was suddenly distracted by an immense, electrifying surge of energy that coursed through his entire essence. Concentrating his energy back into his enlarged physical body on Primus, Skeletor saw none other than his most hated foe of all eternity –He-Man– flying towards him on a Bola-Jet, aiming the Ergon directly at him, its technical power draining the cybernetic energy from Skeletor’s form.

He could not believe it. How had his hated enemy managed to escape death? How could he possibly be alive –and still powerful– at this point in time?

He was so taken aback that he knew not what reaction to take. His decayed jaw opening wide and his eyes blazing with surprise, he could only yell in amazement at the top of his voice…”HE-MAN!!!!!”

No words were emitted from the throat of the universe’s most powerful hero in response. He merely set about doing what had to be done. Tucking the Ergon into his belt, he gripped the Sword of Power in both hands, and smashed it against Skeletor’s Havoc Staff. For the final time, sword and staff were enlocked in battle as the universe’s two greatest forces of good and evil entered their ultimate fight. As Skeletor’s power was drained, he shrunk back to mortal size and engaged in combat with He-Man atop the crackling electrical platform above the Trithuseum Generator.

Although he was weakened, Skeletor quickly remembered the power he possessed. He was not only Master of the Universe… he was the universe, and he could not forget that at this point in time.

“He-Man… you can never defeat me… I AM THE UNIVERSE!”

He fired a deadly bolt from his palms at the great defender. The power was so extreme that it coursed painfully throughout He-Man’s physique, causing him to stumble to the ground. But as he did so, he heard the words of one of Zodac’s most ancient philosophies in his mind:

“The power of technology is finite… the power of the mind is infinite. The power of the mind is the power of magic. The power of magic… is the power of the universe.”

He-Man knew what he must do. He raised the Sword of Power aloft, and cried out:

“BY THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE…
I HAVE THE POWER!”

An almighty explosion erupted from the sword, and engulfed the whole of Primus. The remaining power of Grayskull within He-Man’s possession harnessed the power of the entire universe, and swept it away from Skeletor, coursing throughout He-Man’s physique. Every living being on Primus shielded their eyes as the bright light swept throughout the planet. A final, enormous blast of power from He-Man’s sword sent the power of the universe –the power of light and goodness- beaming towards Skeletor, and searing throughout both his physical body, and his metaphysical essence. Skeletor was finally overcome by the force of light.

As the light died down, the cyborg body of Skeletor lay on the metal platform above the Trithuseum Generator, the cybernetic enhancements now useless, crackling away and dying. The decayed skull of the great evil deity glanced weakly up at He-Man, the red eyes slowly fading.

In his final moment of conscience, as Skeletor looked up at the form of his heroic enemy, Skeletor almost respected this man for how he had nonchalantly persisted, throughout all these years, with his firm opposition to Skeletor’s evil. He was almost pleased to gallantly lose to this hero.

“He-Man…” he said, weakly, “It’s… over…”

The skull collapsed back, the redness of his eyes faded and died, leaving his eye sockets hollow and dull. Then, before He-Man’s eyes, his entire, grotesque evil form faded into nothingness… and vanished completely.

The Sun shone brightly over the beautiful, shimmering towers of Galactic City. The light was reflected on Enos, Primus’ moon, hanging further over in the horizon in harmonic balance with the sun. As He-Man, exhausted from having channeled the power of the entire universe, slowly turned and looked down upon the people of Primus… he was met by the most rapturous, enthused, and genuine cheers and applause he had ever witnessed. The term ‘hero’ was not enough on its own to describe this man who had single-handedly saved the entire universe. He-Man had surpassed everything that could possibly be expected of a hero. He was hailed as a messiah… and a true savior.

Back on ground level, as He-Man was warmly embraced by Darius and the Elders of Primus, he was reunited with his wife, Queen Teela, overjoyed to see her husband alive and a greater hero than ever before. Darius knew his visions of yesteryear had paid off perfectly. Just as the ancient Primand legends foretold, the power of the good and the way of the magic had been re-established on their world after so many centuries.

Although the law officers of Primus were ready to arrest Brakk and the Mutant Army, Brakk stepped forth and declared his desire to amend for the evils of his people by signing a peace treaty with Primus. As Brakk had played a role in delivering to He-Man the power he needed to save the universe, he was pardoned by the Galactic Council and a treaty was signed with the agreement that the Primands would help Brakk and the Mutants re-develop Denebria and restore the former beauty of their world. Many of the Mutant army, although they were content with the treaty, allowed the Primands to hold them in temporary custody in order to prove their redemption and compensate for their evils. A small band of Mutants, generally devastated by the demise of Skeletor, left Primus for the stars, led by the mournful Krytta, whose love for Skeletor would persist until the end of her time.

The news of Skeletor’s defeat traveled quickly throughout the universe, and soon reached She-Ra, who contacted her brother from Horde World, where she was experiencing a similar rapturous reception following the defeat of Prime. Many denizens of Horde World, finally liberated from Prime’s influence, were flocking to the Golden Tower to achieve redemption. However, there was a poignant side to She-Ra’s victory –she had received the news that her husband, Sea Hawk, had been killed in the final battles between the Renegades and the Horde minions. Tears of both sorrow and joy streamed down the face of the universe’s greatest heroine as she told her brother of her victory, and he promised to join her as soon as he had departed Primus.

A ceremony was held several days later in Galactic City to celebrate the freedom of their world, and of the universe. In attendance were not only all the saviors of Primus, but also Zodac and all the Cosmic Enforcers, present to celebrate the paying off of the great wisdom they uncovered all those millennia ago on Eternia when they were the Council of the Wise. He-Ro and King Grayskull were also present at the ceremony, the latter overjoyed to see the effect that his wisdom and heroism had had upon saving Primus all these centuries after he originally freed this world. And not only were Eternia’s great saviors all present, but The Goddess herself also attended the ceremony, the universe’s oldest and greatest present to celebrate the ultimate victory of her disciples over the forces of darkness. The ultimate victory of good over evil had been accomplished. The universe need fear nothing from this point onwards. The power of the good and the way of the magic had been firmly established as the prime force at the very heart of the universe… and having achieved its utmost victory over the forces of evil, materialism and technology, it was sure to maintain the harmony of the universe for all eternity.

Queen Teela left Primus after the ceremony. With her was Sortech, who was now to be granted the role of protector of technology within the ranks of Grayskull. The Ergon was to be held within the walls of Grayskull for the rest of eternity.

He-Man stayed on Primus for several more days, to help its citizens make a start in the rebuilding of their lives and society. Then, he took off for the stars, ready to return to Eternia, his family, and his kingdom.

Over on Horde World, She-Ra was hailed as a Goddess by its people. She had liberated a planet that had been naturally evil from its very birth, and more people came to pledge their allegiance to the forces of light. But She-Ra insisted that Deltara was the real heroine of this planet, for it had been her who had possessed the emotional strength to resist Prime’s corruption and see through the Horde’s evil in the first place. Without Deltara, Horde World may have remained under the control of Prime. So Deltara was crowned Queen of the planet, soon to be renamed following the demise of Prime. She would rule from the Golden Tower, from where she would also communicate with the many other worlds which had been ruled by the Horde, and aid them all in the process of regeneration. The Horde had not been completely eliminated, as various members had avoided redemption and fled to other quarters of the universe… but now that the influence of Prime had gone, they were now little more than a band of petty criminals who would pose no major threat to the universe. As Deltara took over rulership of her world, She-Ra bade farewell to the people of this planet, and returned to Etheria, to a life of peace with her children.

Here's the final chapter of the Encyclopedia's History section! Thank you to everyone who has stayed with this story and spared the time to read it the whole way through! The Character Bios for every single character who played a role, major or minor, in the saga of MOTU will soon follow. For now, enjoy the final chapter in the history of the Masters of the Universe:

Chaper 34: The Legacy Of Grayskull

Peace reigned over the universe following the defeats of Skeletor and Horde Prime. However, an extra air of poignancy was added to the victory of the forces of good… for He-Man never returned to Eternia. Although he had clearly intended to return, he never did so, and no-one knew where he had gone. The Sword of Power was found a while later in one of the craters of Primus’ moon, Enos. But as for what had become of its owner, no-one ever knew.

Queen Teela ruled Eternia in peace, raising her son, Dare, on the wisdom of her missing husband. He grew up to be a strong and brave Prince. Although most people on the planet lived without fear, following the victories of the planet’s founders over the universe, ten years on from the defeat of Skeletor, evil returned to Eternia. The Goddess Shokoti, who had dwelled for twenty years in her desert home, re-emerged, taking advantage of the apparent death of He-Man to attempt conquest of Grayskull and rulership of Eternia, re-establishing the cult of the Nocturnals which had started the chaos of the universe in the beginning. She did so with the help of Scare Glow, a former minion of Skeletor, a spectral entity composed of light energy. At her command was a team of desert warriors following the teachings and battle techniques of the Nocturnals, from ancient times.

The Sword of Power was passed down to Dare, who used the sword to become He-Ro the Second, wielding the power of Grayskull in defence against Shokoti, the Living Darkness. Dare’s adventures were many as he and a band of heroic warriors explored the hidden underworlds of the Sands of Time in search of the relics from ancient civilizations necessary to stop Shokoti.

At the same time, Etheria was also attacked once again… by none other than Prahvus. Following the demise of Horde Prime, Prahvus had succeeded in convincing the remaining members of the Horde to join his own ranks, essentially making true his lifelong desire of taking over the Horde for himself. Having discovered the location of a secret evil power source beneath Etheria’s surface, Prahvus and the Horde invaded Etheria, utilizing dark magical practices established centuries ago by an evil cult that had opposed the First Ones. Adora, now reaching middle age, was living a life of solitude on a remote island on Etheria’s largest ocean, where she was regarded as a wise oracle of knowledge by the locals. The Sword of Protection was passed to her daughter, Sade, who became She-Ra the Second and fought to defend Etheria and the ruling kingdom of Bright Moon against the evil of Prahvus.

The wars raged over both worlds for several years, and following an eventual alliance between Prahvus and Shokoti, an assault on Grayskull almost led to a victory for evil… before the intervention of none other than He-Man. The Eternians were both amazed and relieved to see the most powerful man in the universe return alive and well after so many years of unexplained absence. After he had provided Dare with the magic and wisdom necessary to defeat Shokoti, he explained that his years of absence had been spent in the company of the Cosmic Enforcers. After he had left Primus, Zodac had explained to him that he must disappear from mortal civilization until he was next seriously needed, so that the brevity and confidence of ordinary mortals could be bolstered against the forces of evil in his absence. This would prepare ordinary people better for any future assaults by the forces of evil, while in his time away He-Man had also been given the chance to himself learn the greatest secrets and wisdom of the cosmos, so his spirit could live on and aid the Cosmic Enforcers in the centuries to follow his mortal demise.

At the same time as Shokoti was defeated, Sade was also enabled to use the wisdom and heroism of her mother and uncle to defeat Prahvus once and for all, and Prahvus felt a sense of redemption in his moment of death. The remaining Horde members were taken prisoner, and the Horde was finally no more after all these millennia.

He-Man, Eternia’s warrior King and the universe’s ultimate savior, returned to the throne of Grayskull to rule Eternia alongside his wife and protect the planet from all possible threats. He ruled Eternia for many decades before finally passing away peacefully in his old age, his spirit forever to remain within the walls of Grayskull. His son, Dare, later took the throne of Eternia for himself, while over on Etheria, following the tragic deaths of Queen Glimmer’s children in the final Horde War, Sade was crowned Queen of Etheria. Adora remained on her remote island home until the end of her days, respected as a heroine by all around her. Her death was never recorded; indeed some say she went on living and transcended death to travel to other realms. Both He-Man and She-Ra remain worshipped as deities by many throughout the universe. Maybe some day they will be seen to fight for justice again, lest the universe ever need them.

And so ends the greatest saga of the war between good and evil beknownst to the entire universe. The timeless struggles faced by humankind become mere inkblots on the canvas of history in the shadow of the overwhelming, perpetual nature of true universal peace proven by the great discoveries of the Council of the Wise, and the achievements of all their followers. Throughout universal history, there were geniuses and visionaries. Then there were heroes. Then there were saviors. Then there were…

Encyclopedia of Eternia, part 2: Biographies

OK, now that we've read the whole of Eternia's history, here is part 2 of the Encyclopedia: The Character Biographies! One by one, let's meet every individual character who played a role, big or small, in the saga of Eternia. These have been quite slow in progress but I'll try and get as many churned out as possible as frequently as I can. Some of these bios will only be brief summaries, while others are more or less fanfic stories in their own right (just wait until you see the one I've got for Man-E-Faces!). We'll be meeting the Heroic Warriors first, so let's start with He-Man himself:

Powers and Abilities: Prince Adam is able to use the magic Sword of Power to become He-Man, most powerful man in the universe. As He-Man he possesses the power of super-strength, possessing the strength of ten thousand men. He is able to perform many superhuman feats such as leaping high distances and lifting tremendously heavy objects. He can fire bolts of power from his sword, and in times of great need, can call upon the Elders for extra power.

Background:

Prince Adam is the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena of Eternia. He was one of two twins born to the monarchs during the Great Unrest. His twin sister, Adora, was abducted at birth, and Adam was brought up alongside Teela, the adopted daughter of Duncan, the royal Man-At-Arms. From an early age, Adam exhibited a highly adventurous and exuberant streak. He was boisterous as a child and had a love of practical jokes. This persistently annoyed his father, Randor, who was often preoccupied with his Royal duties and worried about Adam’s suitability for inheriting the crown from him in the future. However, the young Adam became much closer to his mother, Marlena, who read him bedtime stories at night about the history, myths and legends of Eternia, and this built up Adam’s sense of wonder and excitement about the world around him.
Adam’s excitement and longing for adventure often led him into dangerous situations, such as the time he sailed to the Berserker Islands alone while on a family holiday, at the age of 13. He was rescued by Man-At-Arms before any harm could come to him, but King Randor blamed Adam for being foolish and irresponsible, and for not thinking before doing anything. Queen Marlena, however, was impressed with Adam, and while she warned him about venturing near dangerous places as strongly as Randor did, she was impressed by his courage and sense of adventure, and knew that someday he would become a true hero.
Adam grew up to be a wild and rebellious teen, who often neglected his studies and Royal duties to play games and flirt with the ladies of the court. This greatly increased Randor’s concern, and he was subjected to frequent scolding and numerous groundings from his father. Marlena, however, took a much calmer view of her son, knowing that his youthful exuberance was a sign of inner bravery and heroism.
Adam often felt very misunderstood, mainly because his father was constantly complaining to him about his apparent irresponsibility and lack of ambition. Adam seemed unable to convince him otherwise. Even worse was the fact that Teela, the adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms, with whom Adam had grown up almost like a sibling, saw him in much the same way as his father did. Since Adam had always been close to Teela, and now in his adolescence he was developing romantic feelings towards her, he was very hurt by the fact that she didn’t take him seriously. Adam often found he could confide in his mother, one of the only people who truly recognized his inner bravery and nobility. He also confided a lot in Man-At-Arms, as he also understood Adam well, and had been close to him ever since his early childhood. Man-At-Arms, like the Queen, recognized Adam’s inner bravery, and was always there to reassure him that he had the potential to be a true hero. The two became so close that Man-At-Arms became like a surrogate father to Adam.
Besides his mother and Man-At-Arms, Adam always felt at ease when accompanied by his pet, the Eternian tiger Cringer, whom he had found in the Evergreen Forest at the age of ten. Cringer was always loyal to the Prince, and despite being easily scared, was a valuable pet to him. As he grew older, Adam began to take more breaks from the palace on his own, to escape his father’s ranting, explore the world of Eternia and discover his inner heroism.
This heroism was also noticed by The Sorceress of Grayskull. When Adam reached manhood, and the evil forces of Skeletor first attacked Eternia, The Sorceress knew she had found the right man on whom to bestow the powers of Grayskull, for the sake of Eternia’s defense. Adam possessed all the necessary bravery, honesty and nobility required of the planet’s defender- and given that he was highly misunderstood by many around him, his mortal form would ensure the firm protection of his secret identity, as no-one would suspect that this man was also Eternia’s hero.

The Sorceress summoned Man-At-Arms to bring Prince Adam to Grayskull, where he was presented with the Sword of Power. The sword transformed him into He-Man- most powerful man in the universe. Although Adam was surprised and confused that he had been chosen as Eternia’s defender, he also felt a sense of excitement at the fact his heroism had finally been recognized, and that he was being given the chance to become the hero he had dreamed of being as a child.

Adam went on to save Eternia from danger many times, in the form of He-Man. As He-Man, he became recognized not only throughout Eternia, but throughout the universe, as a truly great hero and defender of goodness, winning the admiration of many. However, his double identity also caused much anxiety and frustration for the Prince. As Adam, he felt forced to exaggerate his casual, happy-go-lucky side to avoid giving away his secret. Although this worked, it evoked even more scrutiny from Randor and Teela over how he was neglecting his responsibilities even in his adulthood. And the fact that both Randor and Teela greatly admired his heroic acts as He-Man proved even more frustrating for him, for he longed to be able to tell them his secret and reveal his inner hero to his loved ones. But as the Elders of Grayskull had forbidden him from disclosing his secret lest it fall into enemy hands, only Man-At-Arms, and the court jester Orko who stumbled on the secret by accident, were permitted to share his secret. Adam’s closest confidants, as a result, became Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress, two of the only people who knew Adam for who he really was, while his faithful pet Cringer, himself bestowed with the secret identity of Battle Cat, remained always at his side.

Following the final battle against Skeletor on Eternia, and the revelation of his secret identity, Adam took up the identity of He-Man permanently, his two forms merging into one as he grew older, and was crowned King of Eternia following the death of his father. He went on to foray into outer space to defend the futuristic world of Primus against the onslaught of Skeletor, and following his subsequent victory, remained hailed throughout the universe as its mightiest savior.

Once thing I noticed about your story was the reference to Asp'r. In fact he was referenced twice, and he was the only fan character that I saw listed in your encyclopedia. Since Asp'r 's status wasn't stated in the encyclopedia, and that Serpos couldn't be truly dead - being a god an all, perhaps the two of them could have resurfaced later and led another SnakeMen conquest?

--Asp'r

In Kansas, it is a crime to eat rattlesnake meat in public.You are upsetting the blessing of the Snake God. ALL HAIL RATTLOR!!

Whoa! This blossomed from something I was "gonna check up on when there are a couple more chapters" to a 34 part saga!!! Well, I doubt I'll ever be able to sit in front of a computer screen so long at a time, so I may just dump this into a PDF to take on my nook.

Looks amazing though, Mosquitor! Thanks for your time and perseverance to get this whole history posted!

SnakeMenPriest- Yep, that's definitely possible, and there will be a bio on Asp'r later on, so you'll definitely hear more about him!

Here's the second bio- Man-At-Arms:

Man-At-Arms/Duncan

Name: Duncan
Height: 6ft
Race: Human
Homeworld: Eternia

Powers and Abilities: Duncan is a brilliant scientist and inventor, and is responsible for the vast majority of Eternia’s weaponry and combat vehicles. He is also a skilled soldier and battle commander, with a great range of combat skills.

Biography:
Ever since the establishment of the monarchy on Eternia, each King and Queen was served by a Man-At-Arms, who would provide the weaponry for the kingdom and work on scientific advances. At the time that the forces of Skeletor struck Eternia, this position was occupied by Duncan. Duncan was the last surviving member of a family of great warriors and soldiers, who had devoted their lives to Eternia’s armed forces.

While he was trained as a soldier from birth to maintain the family tradition, Duncan took a keen interest in science from an early age. As a child, Duncan showed little interest in fun and games and instead spent much of his time studying the laws of physics, and the biochemistry of the universe. His father felt that Duncan should develop his scientific skills to go alongside his battle skills, which were already very impressive by the time Duncan had reached his teens. Therefore, he sent Duncan off to a scientific training academy, to be mentored by a middle-aged man named Rohad, a veteran of Eternia’s technological progress.

Duncan immediately proved to be one of Rohad’s most keen students, spending hour after hour experimenting alone in the lab and furthering his studies. Duncan’s youthful enthusiasm occasionally led to accidents within the lab, but Rohad never blamed or scolded the young genius, instead admiring his flare for science and his dedication to the service of humankind through scientific advances. At the age of 18, a personal tragedy struck Duncan when he received news of his father’s violent death when defending one of the Southern kingdoms against an orc army, thus leaving Duncan the last living member of the family. But this only increased Duncan’s determination to advance his skills as his father would have wished. By the age of 21, Duncan made his name legendary throughout Eternia by finding cures for several of Eternia’s highly feared tropical diseases. Then at 24, Duncan completed his greatest invention of the time- the Wind Raider, a highly advanced air vehicle that could be used both as a standard form of air transport, and as a rescue vehicle. At the same time, Duncan continuously practiced his warrior skills and won numerous awards for the strength he demonstrated in combat.

Duncan graduated from the training academy with numerous impressive qualifications, and went to Eternos, where he began lecturing in science at the University, alongside a tenure with the King’s guards. He quickly became a close friend of King Miro, the planet’s ruler of the time, and his immense skill and bravery led Miro to grant him the promotion to Captain of the Guard, and shortly afterwards, the position of Man-At-Arms.

By the time the Great Unrest took hold, Duncan was already well-prepared to serve the planet’s new ruler, King Randor, in the war that began to ravage Eternia.

During the war, another tremendous, life-changing event took place in Duncan’s life. He received a visit from Teelina, The Sorceress of Grayskull, who presented him with her baby daughter, Teela. Now that she had become The Sorceress, Teelina was unable to look after her daughter by herself. She had heard tales of Duncan’s nobility from her husband, Zendar, who had trained alongside Duncan during his time in Eternos. She therefore believed that Duncan was the right person to bring up her daughter- and to train her as a warrior so that she may some day possess the appropriate strength to defend Eternia herself. Duncan respected The Sorceress’ wishes and agreed to bring up Teela as his own daughter, promising never to reveal her mother’s true identity until the right time came.

Once the Great Unrest had been won by Randor’s forces, Duncan devoted much of his time to bringing up Teela, alongside Randor’s son, Prince Adam. Duncan became so close to the Royal Family that himself and Teela became more like honorary members of the family, rather than mere servants. Duncan also built a close relationship with Prince Adam, who found Duncan much easier to confide in than his own father. The two came to respect one another so well that Duncan felt almost like a surrogate father to the young Prince.

When Teela reached 18, Duncan proudly turned the position of Captain of the Guards over to her. He was pleased to have brought her up the way The Sorceress had wanted him to- as she was now the strong and intelligent warrior The Sorceress had desired for her to be. The Sorceress herself visited Duncan at the time to congratulate him on how well he had brought her up.

And when Skeletor attacked Eternia, and the planet was consumed by war once again, Duncan knew he must devote his skills once again to the defense of Eternia. When Prince Adam was given the Sword of Power to become He-Man, Duncan was honored to be chosen as the first person besides The Sorceress to know of Adam’s secret identity. And he quickly became one of He-Man’s main sidekicks in the battles against the forces of evil. The many adventures the two of them shared together led Duncan to become an even closer friend to He-Man, and a valuable commander within the ranks of the Heroic Warriors, churning out countless amazing inventions for the heroic forces’ aid, saving the warriors in times of crisis.

Although Duncan could often appear gruff, overtly serious and slightly bad-tempered, at heart he was always a noble and dignified warrior who happily dedicated his life to Eternia’s defenses. A wise and intelligent fighter, he came He-Man’s best friend and closest ally, as well as being highly respected by all members of the Heroic Warriors. He also became the closest confidant of The Sorceress, due to his upbringing of Teela. The two shared a special bond and developed strong feelings for one another. These remained unrealized until Duncan suffered a crippling injury in the later stages of the war which left him unable to walk long distances. The Sorceress nursed him back to health and healed his wounds, and after the eventual defeat of Skeletor, romance blossomed between the two, and they retired from the battle to a life of solitude in the countryside of Eternia, Duncan’s servitude to Eternia forever remaining legendary.

Teela is the daughter of The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. Born to her mother in a small peasant village during the Great Unrest, Teela was given up for adoption after only a few months once her mother took the mantle of Sorceress of Grayskull. The Sorceress entrusted Man-At-Arms to look after Teela as if she were his own daughter. She knew that someday Teela would succeed her as Sorceress of Grayskull, so Man-At-Arms must bring her up to be wise, noble, and a brave warrior. However, she could not be permitted to know the true identity of her mother, for the Elders believed this may boost her confidence too much as a child, if she were to know how powerful her mother was.

Man-At-Arms trained Teela as a warrior from birth, and ever since her early childhood she proved to be smart, brave, and adventurous. At the age of only seven, Teela amazed the palace courts with her supreme agility and martial skill, surpassing those of many of her young male peers. When she was not training, Teela spent much of her time studying the ancient history of Eternia, and by the age of twelve she possessed a high knowledge of history and could speak several ancient languages fluently.

Teela was brought up alongside Prince Adam, the son of the King Randor and Queen Marlena. Although the two became very close and got on like brother and sister, Adam’s more rebellious nature and reputation as a practical joker led to numerous scoldings from his father over his apparent laziness, and as a result Teela received more praise from King Randor than Adam ever did. Although they were still very close, Teela occasionally grew tired of Adam as they grew into their teens. She failed to see his brave and adventurous side, and often accused him of being lazy. Although they both possessed secret romantic desires for the other by this time, they began to develop a kind of love-hate relationship.

By the age of 18, Teela’s skill and bravery were so supreme that Man-At-Arms gladly turned the position of Captain of the Royal Guard over to her. Teela made Eternian history by becoming the first ever female to undertake the role of Captain of the Guard, and she became an inspiration to other young females in the kingdom. King Randor and Queen Marlena were very impressed by her achievement, and she quickly became recognised throughout Eternia as one of the planet’s greatest warriors- at only 18 years of age!

But while she spent many hours training the guards and acting as bodyguard for the King and Queen, Teela had no greater desire than to find out the identity of her mother. Unaware that Man-At-Arms was not her real father, she asked him many times about her mother, but Man-At-Arms explained to her he was unable to speak of her mother for reasons she would someday understand. Unaware of whether or not her mother was still alive, and confused over why Man-At-Arms would not reveal her identity, Teela became determined to someday find out for herself who her mother really was.

Shortly after Teela took over as Captain of the Guard, Skeletor made his return to Eternia, and the great struggle between good and evil began. Teela quickly proved herself as one of Eternia’s greatest fighters as she aided He-Man in his many battles against Skeletor. She also developed a strong romantic attraction to He-Man and longed to someday win his heart. Unaware that He-Man and Prince Adam were one and the same, she became more frustrated with Adam as he appeared to grow increasingly lazy, and this led to many tensions in her relationship with the Prince. Despite her constant criticisms of the Prince, she always loved him deep inside, but felt that He-Man was the man she really wanted.

Teela’s nature was fearless and ambitious; she was a powerful and headstrong woman who was determined to achieve everything she put her mind to. Her physical strength and aggressive, outspoken nature often shocked her opponents, who frequently underestimated her strength. In a culture in which males had always traditionally been seen as the strongest fighters, Teela proved to be perhaps the strongest female fighter Eternia had ever known. Teela’s main weakness proved to be her hot temper and her susceptibility to angry outbursts, but she would always calm down quickly and be the first to apologize.

In the later stages of the war, when Eternia was in the grip of evil, Teela was stunned to discover the true identity of her mother, and her destiny to succeed her as Sorceress of Grayskull. Although she had never suspected this, she had always felt a strong bond with The Sorceress, and the discovery of her heritage strengthened the bond between them. However, she was unprepared for the most terrifying discovery of her life –that she was also the daughter of none other than Skeletor. As if this was not enough in itself, she also realized that she was the latest in the bloodline stemmed from the ancient cult of darkness known as The Nocturnals. With the blood of darkness in her veins, she was destined to become the next Lady of Destruction. Teela began to develop a bizarre split personality complex that she could not control, as her mind became overwhelmed by desires and images of pure evil.

As she fought to control this curse, a terrible thing happened and Teela split into two separate beings- one good, the second a gruesome and evil version of herself. The evil Teela non-hesitantly joined forces with her father, Skeletor, in bringing about the fall of Eternia and the end of He-Man.

In the almighty struggles that brought about the end of the war and the final victory of He-Man over the forces of darkness, Teela succeeded in overcoming her evil side once and for all. However, her personality had been largely altered by her experiences in the war, and she became of a calm, solemn nature, wise and enlightened by all she had been through. As peace reigned over Eternia, Teela finally married He-Man, now aware of his true identity, and took over the role of Sorceress of Grayskull. As Eternia’s rulership switched to Grayskull she also became Queen of Eternia, and she was to maintain this role for the rest of her life as she lived into old age. Teela will be remembered throughout the rest of time as one of Eternia’s greatest warriors, and wisest rulers.

Name: Teelina
Height: 5ft 9 inches
Race: Human (except when in the form of Zoar, the falcon)
Homeworld: Eternia

The Sorceress was born as Teelina, in a small peasant village on Eternia’s Western Continent, belonging to a kingdom not far from Eternos. She was brought up in a poor farming family, and from her youth she was kind, humane and loving. She devoted much time to helping others, and came to be well-respected in her village. She recognized the poverty that herself and her family lived in, and how prosperous and rich many other areas of Eternia were. This led her to develop the ambition to help others, and ensure that they could live comfortably and free from poverty. She touched many hearts when she gave shares of the small amount of money her family possessed to other poor people. She hoped that someday, she would come out of poverty herself- but even if she did, she knew she would always devote her life to helping others.

Shortly after the deaths of her parents from starvation, Teelina met a man named Zendar. Zendar was a great warrior, who struck Teelina as being noble, strong and caring. He helped her to get over her parents’ deaths, and she fell in love with the young man and married him. Little did she know that Zendar’s nobility was all an act, to fool her… and she could not have been prepared for the evil demon he became.

When the Great Unrest struck Eternia, as Xazrog’s forces invaded the planet, Zendar had to leave Teelina to fight in the war. Shortly after his departure, she gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Teela. Life grew incredibly difficult for her as she was faced with the task of bringing up her daughter alone in the midst of this war. Xazrog’s forces managed to conquer the kingdom in which she lived, and they stole money from her village constantly. Before long, she was left with no money, and little food. She feared that the end was near for her daughter and herself.

It was this desperation that led Teelina to venture out in search of the mystical fortress of Castle Grayskull. It was here that she met with Kodak Ungor, the castle’s then Sorceress, who convinced her to give up her mortality to become Grayskull’s new guardian. She was endowed with the miraculous abilities of Sorceress, and many magical powers such as telepathy, teleportation, eternal youth, and the ability to transform at will into Zoar, the falcon of force. She would use this secret form to patrol Eternia and deliver messages to those who served good.

Aware that her duties would render her unable to give her daughter a sufficient upbringing, she entrusted her close friend Duncan, better known as Man-At-Arms, to look after Teela and bring her up to become a great warrior, suitable for inheriting the mantle of Sorceress of Grayskull. Shortly afterwards, she heard the news that her husband had been killed in the war. She was devastated that her husband should die unaware that he had a daughter… but was totally unaware that he was not dead at all, and had in fact become the villainous Skeletor.

The Sorceress used her incredible powers to defeat the evil forces that threatened Eternia during the Unrest. As peace reigned across Eternia once more, The Sorceress spent the next eighteen years living alone in the castle, acting as its mysterious guardian. She had little to do in Eternia now that no evil threatened the planet, and she grew incredibly lonely, with memories of her husband, and the desire to bring her daughter up herself. She would emerge from the castle only on numerous occasions.

After Skeletor returned to Eternia with his new evil forces, The Sorceress knew she must once again commit herself to defending Eternia from evil. And when she realised just how serious a threat Skeletor was, she knew the time had come for He-Man- and she gave the Sword of Power to Prince Adam, who became He-Man for the first time.

The Sorceress became the most valuable aid to He-Man and the Heroic Warriors in their struggles against evil. As one of the few people to know of Prince Adam’s double identity, she became one of the closest confidants of the Prince as he frequently turned to her for help and advice, and emotional support as the struggles against evil took their toll on him. In her secret falcon form of Zoar, she also proved a great aid to the Heroic Warriors as she scouted for evil over Eternia and aided with secret attacks in response to the Evil Warriors’ schemes.

Following the eventual victory of the forces of good, The Sorceress retired from Grayskull, passing the mantle of Sorceress down to Teela and going off to live in peace with her lover, Man-At-Arms. Promoted to a deity, as is the fate of all Grayskull’s greatest guardians, Teelina is to remain forever more as one of the great Goddesses of the universe, a watcher over peace.

The younger of the two sons of King Miro, Randor grew up to be a well-respected, trustworthy prince. Always desperate to please his father and prove his worth as successor to Miro, Randor trained his battle skills from an early age and performed many good deeds for the kingdom of Eternos. Randor possessed a secret love of adventure and loved nothing more than a good friendly duel with his peers.

Ever since his childhood, Randor had a strong sibling rivalry with his older brother, Keldor. Unlike Randor, the silent and sullen Keldor showed little interest in the affairs of the Eternians through his youth, and by the time Keldor reached his teens and took up his pursuit of the dark arts and taboo forms of magic, the tension between the two brothers heightened to the extent it became almost bitter. The two rarely spent any time together throughout their teens.

By the time Randor reached adulthood, he had won enormous respect from the people of Eternia, for his good deeds towards the poor and his skill as a brave, dignified warrior.

However, a family tragedy was to strike Randor with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of his father King Miro, whilst on a Royal excursion to the country of Mallory. Miro had been due to give a public speech in the nation’s capital, but after he failed to arrive on time, the King’s bodyguards had been shocked to find that the King was nowhere to be seen. Despite an extensive search of the surrounding mountains, no trace of King Miro could be found, and the search was eventually abandoned.

It was this bizarre disappearance that led Eternia to be plunged into the period that became known as The Great Unrest. A bitter rivalry now formed between Randor and Keldor as they conflicted over which of them was to take Miro’s place as ruler. Traditionally, the crown of Eternia had always been handed down to the eldest child of the monarch, so tradition suggested that Keldor should become the planet’s new King. But this led to an outcry from the people of Eternos, who were suspicious and fearful of Keldor’s controversial nature and the dark forms of magic which he practiced. They called for Randor to become King, which incited Keldor’s anger, and he declared war upon Randor, leading to numerous attempts to take the city of Eternos by force with the aid of a gang of criminals he had ordered to be released, and a demon army summoned from another dimension.

The Great Unrest became more and more intense by the day as countless warlords from other worlds took advantage of the situation on Eternia and made their own attempts to seize the planet’s throne by force. Randor was quickly instated as King, and led his soldiers into battle daily against the evil forces that threatened Eternia.

Keldor himself was to abruptly vanish from the war shortly after joining forces with the Horde leader Xazrog (who was later to become Hordak). The only explanation given for his disappearance was that his pursuits of dark magic had rendered him lost in ‘dimensions beyond time’. Out of brotherly love, Randor swore that he would someday find and redeem his misguided brother, but his prime duty at the time was to free Eternia from the evil forces whose strength intensified by the day. Randor’s forces received a tremendous aid to their cause when they were joined by The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, who had resurrected the power of the ancient fortress of good in order to rid Eternia of evil.

With the benefit of a temporary breathing space from the chaos of war, Randor took the opportunity to marry his prime scientist, Marlena. Marlena had initially been hired by Randor to aid himself and Man-At-Arms with her scientific knowledge as well as her skills as a warrior and fighter pilot. But Randor and Marlena worked so closely together that their alliance soon developed into true love, and so they were married and Marlena was crowned Queen. Months later, she gave birth to twins, Adam and Adora.

The magic of The Sorceress and the power of Randor’s forces eventually led them to victory, with the eventual defeat of the Unrest’s main aggressor, Xazrog. But a further tragedy was to strike for Randor. Xazrog, together with his right-hand man, the mysterious and terrifying Skeletor, succeeded in escaping from the Royal dungeons and abducted the baby Princess Adora in revenge. Xazrog fled from Eternia with Adora, and was never traced. Despite his victory in the war, King Randor was overcome with a sense of loss, having lost three of his family members –Miro, Keldor and now Adora– to mysterious circumstances during the Unrest.

The trauma of the Great Unrest was to permanently change Randor’s personality. The once easygoing, carefree Randor now became a stern, serious and intense man, permanently grappling with grief and unsettlement over the loss of his relations, which was not aided by continuous searches for the missing Royals proving futile in the ensuing years. Although he remained an honorable and noble ruler, this change in Randor’s personality was to have a seriously detrimental effect on his relationship with his son. As Prince Adam grew up, he proved to be a happy-go-lucky, mischievous and rebellious young man, and the slipshod nature of the Prince was to evoke great concerns in Randor, who feared his son would be unsuitable for the inheritance of Eternia’s crown. Adam appeared to resent his father’s disappointment at him, and this led to severe tensions between father and son.

When the forces of evil returned to Eternia with the invasion of Skeletor and his evil accomplices, Randor willingly entered the war in the name of good, hoping the war would eventually unleash answers as to the whereabouts of his three missing relatives. His frustration at Prince Adam was to intensify severely throughout the war as Adam appeared laid-back and unconcerned about the planet’s welfare. This tension was only mounted by the fact that Adam was merely trying to protect anyone from discovering his secret identity –He-Man, Eternia’s greatest defender.

Following the phenomenal events and outcome of the war between good and evil, Randor was eventually to find not only answers, but reunion with the missing Miro, Keldor and Adora, the latter who was also to become one of Eternia’s finest defenders in the form of She-Ra, Princess of Power. Following these reunions and the discovery of his children’s secret heroic identities, Randor was to suffer a fatal battle wound in the final battle against evil on Eternia. But he was to die in peace following the resolution of his traumas, and the victory of good over evil in the final battle of Eternia.

'Cause there's thunder in your heart
Every move is like a lightning
It's the power you feel when you get your taste of the glory
There's a fire gonna start
and you know they're going under
you can light the dark when they hear your heart of thunder.

Marlena was renowned throughout Eternia as a brilliant scientist and fighter pilot for many years prior to her integration into the Royal Family. Marlena grew up in the city of Drisdos, the youngest daughter of a family with moderate wealth. Her father was a skilled pilot named Jahno Glenncroft who worked on many of Eternia’s pioneer air vehicles, as technology expanded thus allowing aerial transport to become more commonplace across Eternia. Her father’s proficiency as a pilot inspired the young Marlena to experiment with her own piloting skills, and in her teens she took part in numerous air ace contests involving races on early Sky Sleds. She quickly proved that she shared much of her father’s skill and won a string of gold medals for her performance in these contests.

At the age of 18, Marlena moved to Eternos to study science and aerodynamics at the university. It was here that she first met Duncan, the Royal Man-At-Arms, as she undertook a series of lectures with him, and impressed him with her scientific expertise. Disturbed by a theory which was common throughout Eternia at the time, that the advance of air transport would lead only to war and chaos via the use of aerial invasions, Marlena vowed to someday serve the Royal Court as a fighter pilot to prevent this theory from ever becoming reality.

In her mid-twenties, Marlena graduated from the university as a fully qualified scientist and fighter pilot, and took up a position at Eternos City’s Institute of Science and Technology. She came to know the Royal Family well through Duncan’s frequent consultations with her, and built up a close friendship with King Miro’s son, the young Randor. Marlena helped establish air vehicles as a key component of King Miro’s military forces, by assisting with the mass production of Wind Raiders and the utilization of air defense vehicles.

When the Great Unrest came, Marlena was immediately called upon by Randor to aid his forces in the defense of their kingdom. Marlena’s skills in science, combined with her fighter pilot skills, were fundamental in helping the Royal forces fend off the many warlord invaders who targeted their kingdom. The war was long, hard and traumatic for both Marlena and Randor, but the close bond they formed as allies gradually developed into true love. In the midst of a period of relative quiet following the intervention of The Sorceress in the war, Marlena and Randor took the opportunity to marry one another. Marlena was crowned Queen of Eternia at Randor’s side, and shortly afterwards gave birth to twins, Adam and Adora.

Although Randor’s forces eventually won the war, a final tragedy struck Eternia’s rulers with the abduction of their baby daughter Adora by the escaped warlord Xazrog, who fled with Adora to another dimension beyond traceability. Traumatized and exhausted from the war, Marlena renounced her role as a scientist and warrior, and devoted her full time to ensuring the welfare of the Eternians, as well as raising Prince Adam as her son.

During the two decades of peace that followed, Marlena formed a close bond with her son, as Prince Adam grew up to be a wild, adventurous young man. While Randor became continuously frustrated at Adam’s apparent lack of responsibility, Marlena was much closer to her son, recognizing the inner nobility and bravery within him. Marlena was thus able to calm her husband in his moments of antagonism towards his son, assuring him that Adam would be fine.

Following the return of the forces of evil to Eternia under the leadership of Skeletor, Marlena was non-hesitant to offer her skills as a scientist and warrior as an aid to the Heroic forces. Although she rarely participated directly in the war, she would resume her old warrior duties whenever it was required of her, and would occasionally bring her old skills back to the forefront to surprise the evil forces as well as proving that her inactivity in these areas had not weakened her skills in the slightest.

Due to her close bond with her son, Marlena also eventually worked out that Prince Adam was also He-Man. In Eternia’s prime defender and champion, she recognized various traits of nobility that she had always seen deep within Prince Adam’s wild exterior, and upon realizing that Prince Adam’s apparent retreats from danger seemed to coincide with He-Man’s sudden appearances, she put two and two together. She would never admit this, not even to King Randor, but would occasionally drop hints to her son, as well as using her calm and serenity to reassure Randor whenever he feared for his son’s lack of responsibility.

In the later stages of the war, when the planet was taken over by Skeletor, Marlena resumed her warrior position full-time to aid the Heroic forces. Although unlike her husband she was to live beyond the war, she non-hesitantly allowed the crown of Eternia to be passed down to her son, the finest hero Eternia had ever known and Marlena’s greatest pride.